I agree its probably the culture, something like will not only be one guy... its the way of thinking, and this needs to change, it will take effort and time, but it is possible if the right leader is put into place!
... View more

thats a huge risk investors will be taking now... they need a CEO that will fix such things asap! for the i ran money, isn't this indicated on the financial statements etc? if it is, they might have trouble even with that... this is a substantial amount of money!
... View more

ok, but then they will have to work on some ideas to reduce their substantial debt burden over time? i wonder who will give them a loan? SA investment bank of some sort, or international? JPMorgan or Goldman, Barclays? or whats going on with the Government negotiations?
... View more

and rightfully so... that guy should be implementing culture and policies etc thats ethical, law abiding and not result in this type of thing. look at those wall street CEOs that ran their companies into the ground, it was also because they were not looking at the bigger picture and only their pockets...
... View more

I am a bit concerned where the funds will come from for this fine. if its not reduced it makes a huge amount and the cashflow cannot support this, I think they don't have the funds available and as Skaaptjop said, they will need a rights offer. this will dilute the shares and earnings/dividends, but one should calculate the effect dilution could result in, the PE and DY of this and if the drop in price results in acceptable Yields for investors, then it makes sense to buy or hold for long term... the new CEO has a huge task to regain the investor confidence now (as you jus said you think there is something rotten), but if they don't have more of these surprises and he/she can create a better ethical culture, it could be an ok investment for long term... whats your thoughts?
... View more

Thats great! what was your thesis topic? I am currently doing an MBA at USB and my thesis will be/is on behavioural investing. I will share it with you guys once its done... Probably next year this time if all goes according to plan.
... View more

Very interesting! As you know, I have a long term buy and hold strategy, so far it works for me, and I do understand that people are all different and this requires various strategies, so I like to listen to everyone's views and understand their thinking. Your comments make perfect sense! OST should actually make a resource library for such stuff, thesis and research reports relating to trading and investing for the investors to gain access to academic literature and insights in the business. its very powerful!
... View more

well, i don't think my comments towards MTN has been very nice. If one works for a company you probably should try to promote it and not say they deserve the fine and that they're unlawful and unethical as a result... how did you come to that conclusion Preston?
... View more

but isn't KIO also mining, so effectively also reducing their useful life of their mines, by definition of mining, thats what they do the minute they start to dig? not? the guy with the most cash will most likely win this battle, they're all going to pressurise each other on falling prices because of over-demand... Preston you might have to wait decades to get your money back on this, if it ever gets that high again... remember if they start to deleverage and also sell assets due to cashflow constraints its much harder for them to get back to their production output of the boom time. About Ivan Glassenburg, he kicked his former lecturer/mentor out of the business when he acquired Xtrata, but now that guy raised funds for a new company and will probably be a predator on these struggling mines to build up a new giant in the years to come! watch this space!
... View more

Check this out, its from a predecessor MBA student from my business school - to make it easier for those not interested in research methods and approaches, just read the abstract and conclusion - lets discuss - http://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/8326
... View more

5.1 million unregistered sim cards - I just wonder what the internal MTN stats on those specific SIMs are... i guess not as much as the $1,000 per sim fine. and now they're going to have to disconnect them in any case. I am sure they didnt benefit that much and they say the Nigeria license is up for renewal next year by the NCC.. good luck MTN if you don't comply with them now!
... View more

I didnt follow the details: how many subscribers are we speaking about and what would the estimated average income be for these subscribers? how long would it take MTN to make that money back from not cutting these guys off? but if its in violation of the law they will be forced to cut them and probably get the fine, not?
... View more

I have to say I am very proud to say that I have been holding this one since may 2005! There is a huge level of pride in this company from is shareholders and rightly so. Stephen Saad did a fantastic job and continues to do this!
... View more

Moe, when did you buy the shares? The mining sector has serious issues as of late. Platinum prices have fallen a lot and with the strikes and wage hikes and all these issues lining up, I think these companies are having serious issues to get their heads above water...
... View more